Nokian Tyres: Our products have always been safe

Press release 26 February, 2016

Nokian Tyres: Our products have always been safe

Nokian Tyres wants to comment on the ongoing discussion about the trustworthiness of tyre tests executed by car media. The topic was raised in the interview of Nokian Tyres’ CEO Ari Lehtoranta in Finnish magazine Kauppalehti on 24 Feb 2016.

- We wanted to bring up tyre testing in car media ourselves, as we have been increasing the transparency and ethicality of our operations on all levels. In past years, when the testing organisations asked manufacturers to send them tyres for the tests, activities in the industry were dubious. Major test organisations have now for years acquired the tyres from tyre stores, and also make control tests to the tyres afterwards. The Board of Nokian Tyres has never decided on such stock option schemes that would have encouraged cheating in tests, unlike what has been implied in the media.

- Last year we audited our operations. Right after that we clarified our rules for test tyres which now specificly forbid any planning or manufacturing of tyres that are targeted only for car media tests. The issue was immediately handled in our Board of directors and together we decided to come out with this information on our own terms. On our behalf, we apologise and regret the mistakes we have made in the past.

- High quality of our products is the foundation of Nokian Tyres. Our products are also top class in safety, says CEO Ari Lehtoranta.

Nokian Tyres plc

Antti-Jussi Tähtinen
Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Further information:
Mr. Ari Lehtoranta, President and CEO, tel: +358 10 401 7733 or
Mr. Antti-Jussi Tähtinen, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Tel. +358 10 401 7940

Nokian Tyres is the only tyre manufacturer in the world that focuses on customer needs in northern conditions. The company supplies innovative tyres for cars,trucks and special heavy machinery mainly in areas with special challenges on tyre performance: snow, forests and harsh driving conditions in different seasons. Nokian Tyres’ product development is consistently aiming for sustainable solutions for safety and the environment, taking into account the whole life cycle of the tyre. A part of the Nokian Tyres group, the tyre chain Vianor has 1,475 outlets in 26 countries. In 2015 Nokian Tyres had approximately 4,400 employees and net sales of approximately 1,4 billion euros. Nokian Tyres’ share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. Further information: www.nokiantyres.com